The path to our destiny
by leliana McKay
Summary: Final chapter! Rodney is near death and everyone is coming to say goodbye. Will there be a last minute miracle? McWeir!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1/ The joys of Doctor McKay

Just a day in life in year 2006

The wonderful life of Rodney McKay!

Today I was sent to a planet called _Avana_ to work on some new technology discovered last week by Lorne's team. Just another mission away from Atlantis, the rest of the team (as usual) is taking a vacation while _I _am working all day, trying to figure out how some alien device works, during a very hot day, on a weird planet, with complete strangers following my every move.

When I came back to Atlantis that day I was just tired and pissed because the damn thing did not work or was useless, and I just lost patience. Never trust Lorne's team to find something decent to work on.

That is why, when I arrived I did not pay attention to whatever new device his team had brought back to Atlantis. Zelenka was excited and talking Czech to himself (I wonder why he does that, he looks even more idiotic than he usually does).

I was walking down the corridor, back from my doc check-up when Elizabeth caught up with me and tried to convince me to work on the device.

"You should take a look at this new technology Rodney. Doctor Zelenka thinks it might be a new power source. He told me that he detected some energy field from the inner core of the device but didn't know how to turn the device on."

Elizabeth seemed clearly enthusiastic about the thing, while I was just being my moody self and wanted to clear my head for once.

"Yeah right! I am just not in the mood to play "let's find the switch" after today's failure with the Avana '_revolutionary device'_. I don't want to waste _MY_ time on some stupid device, so no thank you!"

She didn't seem at all impressed by my reaction. 'I'm getting rusty if she doesn't even bite' thought Rodney.

"Come on Rodney, not even a peak at it? You cannot be that pissed to miss some new technology,» teased Elisabeth

"Hmph, maybe later, right now I'm tired and need to eat. Care to join me?" he asked bluntly. The more time he spent with Elizabeth the better his mood got or that was what his brain was telling him.

"Sure, why not!" replied Elizabeth, and they left to get some lunch.

Meanwhile, in the lab a group of scientists was working furiously to resolve the mysteries of a square metal box forged who knows how long ago. Zelenka was having a hard time with it:

"I did the calculation twice, it looks like a simple EM pulse should activate the device, I suggest we overthrow the failsafe protocol that keeps us from accessing the core by using a secondary unit".

"Shouldn't we wait for Doctor McKay to look at it before actually doing anything" said a German scientist.

"We still don't know what's the origin of the device and what it does, it is unnecessary to take risk right now, we should wait to see what McKay thinks." declared a Russian.

"Dr McKay will try to make us look stupid as usual, we should try to find something to show that he is the incompetent and not us." argued the Korean.

The quarrel in the lab was growing and Radek didn't want unhappy scientist around his new discovery. He was having a headache because of the constant bickering of his team.

"All right, let me talk to doctor Weir before we actually do something stupid." answered Zelenka. "I don't want to compromise our position even if Rodney McKay is a pain in the ass. I'm going to talk to her right now, meanwhile try to find any trace as to whose race it might be related to."

In the commissary, Rodney was being his usual self and Elizabeth Weir thought he looked funny trying to impress her with another of his stories, she would never fall for that but he was cute and so into it, (did I just said cute? hmmm? maybe just a little).

" …So I saw this guy behind me looking as if I was going to blow myself with the device and you know me. I would never do anything that stupid. I mean, I have more degrees than anyone in this base so I know what I'm going. He actually looked like a Neanderthal if you ask me…"

"Rodney, we are trying to establish friendly relationships with other races across the galaxy, not to piss them off by saying that their 'brain cannot support basic thinking notions!' You really need to take diplomacy classes before you find us an enemy worst than the Wraith."

"Elizabeth, I'm just trying to tell you that people that stupid should be locked and not wandering around!"

"Oh Rodney please! Don't start again…" the exasperated Doctor, leaned back on her chair.

"Anyway, I manage to make him leave me to work alone with the device, not that it was that much of a use"

Zelenka arrived in the commissary at this instant, out of breath having searched for doctor Weir for the past 10 minutes, he saw Rodney first and said:

"So you are too good for us now?" clearly wanting to start an argument

"Are you talking to me now?" asked Rodney "because I'm busy at the moment."

"You are the chief scientist here, you should be supervising every discovery here, shut your stupid ego for once."

Seeing Weir Radek calmed down.

"Oh Hi! Doctor Weir, I would like to start experimenting on the device found on P3P77."

"Trying to impress someone?" said Rodney continuing his lunch.

"I don't know what got into you lately but you are an ass!"

"I'm just in a bad mood"

"No you are not, and I now why!"

"Oh really! Now you are a psychiatrist." Sneered Rodney.

"No, but I know why you are so hostile and I know for sure you don't want to talk about it here with… you know who listening!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." said Rodney glancing away.

As heated as the discussion was, Elizabeth didn't want to be in the middle of it. She had noticed things getting edgy between Rodney and his fellow scientists but still, Radek was supposed to be his friend.

"Gentlemen! If you could please try to stay in a good working relationship before you destroy the fragile climate of the city."

"Sorry." they both said weakly.

"So what do you think Doctor Weir?" Radek was obviously trying to get out of the argument; meanwhile Rodney was grumpy, looking everywhere except at Radek.

"If Rodney has no objection,» he added

"He can play as long as he wants, I don't care." Waving his hand dismissingly, Rodney looked back at him and want back to his meal.

"Alright, but I want you to be careful!"

"Well I better head back to the lab then! _I_ have work to do," he said looking meaningfully towards Rodney and left without waiting for an answer.

"What was all of that about?" asked Elisabeth.

"I have no idea."

"Rodney!"

"What? He is getting on my nerves that's it!"

"I was under the impression the two of you were arguing about someone." Why did she have to hit the right spot, Rodney flinched at the idea and went back to eat his food saying nothing.

"And from what I can tell it is a woman..."

More silence, then he started:

"Just forget about it Elizabeth. I don't want to discuss anything about that with you."

"Ohoh! I was right!"

"Shut up Lizzie."

She looked at him raising an eyebrow, she had a feeling Rodney was hiding things from her. Of course, their friendship had been through a lot in three years, but last year had been the hardest one, she had lost faith in Rodney after his catastrophic mistake at the ancient outpost and he had tried very hard to make it up. He was distant but still close enough to talk to. A change in him had occurred a few months ago, he had started to look oddly at her…

The com came on interrupting her thoughts:

"Doctor Weir to the control room immediately."

"Let's go, but I'm not finished with you Rodney." said Elizabeth.

When they arrived the technician started anxiously:

"We have ships coming towards us, I counted five but there might be more, they just came out from hyperspace, and should be here in twenty four hours."

"Go away, let me see that!" said Rodney pushing the poor guy, "oh oh that's bad..."

"What?" asked Elisabeth.

"Pretty bad, pretty pretty bad actually..."

"Rodney?"

"There are more and they are headed towards us for sure."

"How many?"

"I see 9 but there could be more coming."

"I will call Teyla and Ronon, they are on the mainland and John is on the Daedalus supposed to arrive tomorrow. We really need help."

"Right and I am going to look at this data, you never know, might find out something more."

At the same time in the labs, Radek was setting a magnetic impulse generator to get the alien device to work.

"It might take a while, we don't really know how the machine will react." said Zelenka.

"Maybe we should…"started the German guy when the com called for Radek.

"Doctor Zelenka to the control room."

"I will be back."

As he left someone switch the generator causing a pulse, powering the alien device, a larger magnetic pulse was sent combined with an unknown reddish wave, setting the city alarms on; knocking the scientists down. Zelenka who was in the corridor got a shot just as the city started to lock itself out.

Tada! cliffhanger! What the hell just happened? It's for you to guess and me to write!

Reviews anyone?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 / The threat within.

In the control room people started panicking.

"What was that?" asked Elizabeth.

"I got something coming from the lab, some kind of explosion happened down there and is producing radiations, and it is increasing and spreading. We have to send a tem to get those people out of there." said Rodney while looking on the computer screen.

"Right. Medical team to the lab, I repeat medical team to the lab, this is an emergency!" announced Weir.

"Something is not normal, the computers are getting affected by some kind of virus, the data is unclear, this device must be connected to the network, according to my calculations it will control the entire city when the Wraith arrive on orbit."

"What? Control the city? What do you mean?" asked Elizabeth alarmed.

"It just started locking the access to certain areas, I cannot go through it, the protection shield is being attacked, and I think this thing was design to do whatever it is doing right now."

"And that would be?" inquired Elizabeth

"Making us unable to control the city."

"You mean that someone actually planned to disable the entire city."

"My guess is as good as yours but I think the first suspects are the Wraith; I don't think it is a coincidence that they arrive at the same time the machine was activated."

As the city was locking itself from the radiations coming from the lab, the medical team was trying to reach the survivors.

"Doctor Weir! This is Carson, we cannot enter the corridors to the labs, the city is locking every door in front of us. Can Rodney do something about that?"

"I'm on it." replied Rodney. "I can still run the more basic operations but the main system computers are being targeted right now. I have some readings showing unknown radiations; they seem to come from within the lab. We should take some measure to prevent that they affect the rest of the city."

"The door in front of you should open right now." declared Rodney to Carson.

"It just did! I see doctor Zelenka on the floor, he is unconscious! We cannot stay here, there are radiations coming from the walls" he paused for a few seconds, examining Zelenka.

"It was far more than radiations, it looks like some kind of virus, I have never seen that in my entire life, we need to get those people out of here."

"Are there any risks of you being affected?"

"Yes." he answered. "We should set a quarantine, doctor Zelenka is still breathing but is barely alive, my guess is that those inside are already dead by the level of radiations, the people in this area of the city might all be contaminated. No one is to approach the area."

"Understood doctor Beckett, keep in touch if you have any updates."

Elizabeth turned off her microphone, and looked at Rodney.

"Rodney can you read those radiations on your computer? Are you getting any life signs from the labs?"

"Nothing, it is like it is empty…Elizabeth, it is my fault I should have looked at the device."

"It's not your fault Rodney. Even Zelenka thought it was harmless."

"This is not a reason! I let my personal problems get into my work, those scientists died because of me and if Radek dies it will be because of me."

Rodney was very agitated, and had stood up from his chair, making it roll to Elizabeth.

"Rodney, calm down. I understand your feelings but right now we must stop that machine, so concentrate." She replied quietly.

"I need to get closer to the lab." He mumbled

"No! YOU cannot be infected by it! You are our most valuable scientist." argued Elizabeth.

"Alright! According to the readings minutes before the explosion, the field created in the labs was expanding proportionally, which means that the radiations are going to get bigger till the machine finishes its work."

"Can you assess the damage done already?"

"This might take a while because of the virus."

"Ok, try your best. I'm going to call Earth to let them know about the situation."

To the control guy "Dial Earth"

The stargate began to rotate but stopped to a halt.

"What's happening?"

"The virus is already too far in the system, it is preventing any access to the stargate."

Two hours later, Ronon and Teyla arrived from the mainland.

"Wraith you said?" asked Teyla

"And more, we are in quarantine. The device we brought back earlier today seems to be a trap from the Wraiths. We are defenceless. Rodney is trying to override its effects." declared Elizabeth.

"So holidays are finished?" said Ronon trying to loosen the tension in the room.

"Sorry." said Elisabeth unapologetic.

Everyone had been working to get the city under control without luck. Carson was still treating Zelenka and Elizabeth was trying to think about evacuations and defence of Atlantis.

"What can we do?" asked Teyla.

"We must prepare to evacuate the city by ship, there's no other way to get out of here," started Elisabeth when she received a communication.

"Doctor Weir, this is Carson, I have news about doctor Zelenka."

"I'm listening."

"Well, you can come to the infirmary; it is not contagious however I don't know how to treat it. I need more information about the device"

"Alright, we are coming."

Down in the infirmary, Ronon, Teyla, Elisabeth, Rodney and Carson were surrounding doctor Zelenka's bed.

"How is he?" asked Teyla.

"Well the good news is that he is stable and breaths by himself. The bad news is that he was only exposed for a few seconds to the radiations which means that the people locked inside are probably dead."

Rodney's eyes fell to the floor, feeling guilty; he couldn't believe that his fellow scientists died, in his lab, doing something he should have done.

Elizabeth saw this and put a hand on his arm. Carson started speaking again:

"The walls and doors must be containing the rays because we didn't get infected. The radiations caused a major shutdown of the main organs, fortunately for him, he got a small dose. He will make a full recovery I hope but only time will tell. Those radiation act on their own, like a virus…"

Doctor Zelenka started waking up, grunting.

"Radek?" asked Rodney.

"How are you feeling?" said Carson. "Any specific pain?"

He spoke in Czech, sighed and then…

"Hit by a truck!" he spoke weakly.

"What happened?" asked Elisabeth.

"I don't know, I was leaving the lab when the explosion happened. Someone must have started the device. I remember flying in the air and then nothing."

"Do you have any data from the machine? I need to see everything to understand what happened." said Rodney.

"In the lab."

"We cannot go in there." said Carson.

"Maybe I can access it from the control room. I will need to rewrite the computer protocol and hack my way in the network." said Rodney hastily.

"Go!" said Elizabeth.

" Ronon, Teyla, I want you to contact our closest allies and ask for temporary asylum."

She headed back to the control room and asked for a distress signal to be emitted towards the Daedalus "Send a message to the Daedalus, they need to hurry we are under attack and defenceless."

Whatever happened now was just the beginning of a long journey...

TADA! see new next chapter

anything to say? please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Chap 3/ Getting ready for destiny

It had already been nine hours and the control room was busy trying to get as much info possible, Rodney had been running like a maniac between computers or what was left of them because of the virus. How could a day bad enough in the beginning turn to hell in two hours? Rodney was seriously questioning his luck.

He watched as Elizabeth organized evacuation groups.

Carson had brought Zelenka to the control room so he could help Rodney by telling him what he knew since the computers in the lab were out of reach, and the virus seemed to affect more and more systems. Radek was under some treatment but seemed to be tired above all.

Rodney and Radek were once again arguing with each other.

"Yes Rodney, I did the calculations three times before plugging the generator!" breathed the Czech.

"However you still can't tell me how the core radiations were emitted?"

"No I can't we were still working on it!" exclaimed Zelenka.

"Radek you are no help!"

"YOU were too busy chatting with you know who! YOU should have been doing YOUR job!" accused Radek. Looking pointedly across the room to a certain someone busy coordinating evacuations.

"Excuse me? I have no idea of what you are on about. And stop meddling with MY life!" their voice grew louder and the control room became quiet around them.

Rodney was embarrassed because he was being the center of everyone's attention and Elizabeth was looking at him questioningly. Radek had touched a nerve and Rodney was in denial somehow.

Radek came closer and looked at him in the eye, he spoke so quietly only Rodney could hear, "Get over your feelings now before you kill us all, you don't even notice how smitten you are. Just go back to work and forget her." and he left.

Rodney was left speechless people around him avoid eye contact, Elizabeth was on the contrary watching his every move. He went back to work sulking.

He knew that his behaviour had changed and couldn't help it. However, he was now overcome with guilt. Guilt for losing concentration on his work and also because Radek knew what was going on in his mind, whereas himself was so lost at the moment.

A few minutes later, they received a communication from the Daedalus saying they would be arriving in a few hours.

Time had passed quickly since the Wraith cruiser detection and people were getting agitated by the impeding threat:

"They are getting closer, we cannot wait to evacuate people!" said Rodney.

"I know Rodney but we are still waiting for Ronon and Teyla to report to us, we can only use the puddle jumpers."

"Alpha site is ready, we should start sending people there." ushered Rodney.

" Right, but the trip is taking too long we won't be able to evacuate everyone."

"That's why we have to star now!"

"Fine, I will call the first group." conceded Elisabeth.

Twenty minutes later two jumpers left the bay for the Alpha site.

When Ronon and Teyla came back they informed Elisabeth of the agreement they got for asylum, Elizabeth knew she had no choice to the terms and sent more refugees.

In these situations, time passes so fast and today the evacuations were not going well, even with eight jumpers available the trips were taking too long.

When the Wraith ships came into Atlantis' orbit, the city was about 3/4th empty.

The ships started firing with no mercy and the Daedalus was yet to arrive. Blasts could be heard above them, and the city started shaking.

"The shield is affected by the virus, it will stop working very soon, the next blasts will seriously damage the city we have to get out of here!" declared Radek.

"We have to keep the city at all costs!" said Elizabeth.

"Some part of the city are getting flooded." announced Rodney.

Elizabeth was ordering more people to leave.

"I need update on your work, I need facts, Rodney?" he didn't say a word.

Zalenka answered, " The control stations are not responding, and there's no way to access the device from here. We are powerless, we don't even know if shutting it down will help. We ran some simulations with the small data we had and…"

"We figured that running a cleaning sequence into the device by powering a new sequence might help us get the shield back." said Rodney.

"We don't know for sure, and we don't have enough time Rodney." said Radek.

Ronon and Teyla who had just come back from sending another group, did not say a word, but they knew the situation was hopeless.

"I think I know what to do…"

Rodney had stopped speaking, looking straight, ahead, clearly thinking about something, he was lost for a minute. The walls were still shaking and Elisabeth gripped the table while looking at Rodney.

"Rodney?" asked Elisabeth.

His eyes went to hers. He thought, his plans, if executed right, would be their salvation, it was the only choice. After talking to Radek about the device, he had come to only one conclusion, there was a way to disconnect the device and stop it from invading the system, only that someone had to do it and that person would probably die from it.

"You know what to do" he told Radek

Looking at Elizabeth eyes, told him why he had to do it. Why he had to save her. They would understand his decision. It was only for the good of the expedition.

"Rodney? Do you have an idea?" she asked

He approached her took both her hands in his, and said to her:

"Just remember this Lizzie. I want you to know that I love you." he smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the lips and then left the room, running, leaving Elizabeth staring into the space he had just left.

She touched her lips, her eyes wide opened, wondering what had just happened.

**End of the chapter. **

OMG! Did I just write that?

This chapter was harder because of my "Stargate not working". I don't know how far are planets in the Pegasus galaxy but I just want this to look a bit real, even if travelling that far would take years so! Another explanation would be: they go to the closest planet with a Stargate and use the gate! Tada ! fute-fute la fille!

And Rodney is a total chaos in his head, what the hell is he going to do?

Any idea? Review !


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4/ Bravery

"What the hell was that?" asked Elisabeth clearly panicking.

"Oh no!" said Radek.

Teyla looked at Ronon and than to the floor.

"He is going to do it..." whispered Teyla.

"What!" yelled Elizabeth.

Radek explained to her how he and Rodney had come to only one solution.

"One person has to go in there to stop it, it is the only way, but the exposure from the radiation will kill them for sure. Rodney is our expert, he can resolve this the fastest way possible, or that's what I hope."

Meanwhile, Rodney ran as fast as he could to the lab, worked his way in and felt immediately the radiations.

'Shit! I must go fast, damn thing is strong!' he thought

He started working, getting weaker by seconds, he wired the system then he drew the sequence and activated the protocol. The last thing he saw before he fainted was a blue glow that enveloped him and the lab.

At this instant, an explosion was heard above the city.

"The Daedalus is here." said Carson looking at the control screen.

As he said that, they were beamed into the ship. They saw Colonel Caldwell in his chair:

"We are here in time I hope? Sheppard is out, kicking some Wraith ass. What happened down there?" asked Caldwell.

"We don't know." said Teyla.

The Daedalus was destroying Hive ship after Hive ship thanks to the new weapons stolen to the Ori, meanwhile Sheppard and others were flying trying to destroyed as many Darts as they could.

Barely a minute had passed when they saw the city come back to life.

"Rodney did it!" said Zelenka amazed. "He manage to overthrow the protocol and deactivated the device. The city is operational!"

"Colonel Caldwell, were is Rodney?" asked Elizabeth worried.

"I'm sorry Doctor Weir, but you were the only life signs we could get."

"We have to go back." said Elizabeth desperately.

"Is the inside of the city secure? You talked about radiations in your message."

"Only in the labs and well, now the device is off, the radiations should have disappeared completely..."

"Should?" asked Caldwell.

"I cannot be a 100 sure but we should be able to access the labs." said Radek

"Beam us to the corridor closest to the labs." commanded Weir.

"Alright, do it. " said Caldwell to the airman.

As soon as they were back, they headed for the lab, when they arrived they saw bodies of the scientists who worked during the experiment and then they got to Rodney. He was unconscious and very pale, Elizabeth was struck into place not able to move. Carson got to him first and checked his vitals, "I can't fell a pulse..." he said.

He started CPR and told Ronon : "Get me a stretcher this is not good! His body is shutting-off, he is dying. Come on Rodney! We need to get him to Earth, I cannot do anything here."

Carson started CPR in front of a much panicked Elizabeth

"I can guess he got internal bleedings and his organs are shutting themselves down one after another." He said looking at her.

Teyla helped Ronon and Carson to move Rodney while Zelenka was checking the other bodies "They are all dead..." he said breathless.

"Come on." said Carson, "We need to dial the gate now, let's go!"

"Carson?" Asked Elizabeth. " Is he going to live?"

"I don't know," he answered " It is very serious, deadly, I fear he is already dead." he said leaving the room.

They all left, Zelenka following, leaving Elisabeth alone in the lab. She fell to her knees and started crying.

**Chapter end **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5/ Rodney's demise

The atmosphere on Atlantis went from a ragging battle to a death silence, Ronon was helping Carson to get Rodney to the gate. Teyla knew that despite Rodney's shameful luck this was a bad omen, the air was thick and she was unable to say one word of luck to Carson. In the control room, Zelenka dialled Earth and was talking to the Stargate Command.

"We have a medical emergency, Doctor McKay is dying, Doctor Beckett is coming with him through the wormhole. The city has suffered a lot of damage but thankfully, the Daedalus arrived so we are ok for the moment. Send a medical team and get radiations experts quickly."

"Understood." said general Landry. "Open the iris." he said to sergeant Harriman.

The general immediately called "Medical team to the gate."

Carson left through the gate leaving Ronon, Teyla and Radek staring at the wormhole, it was as if everyone was stand still unable to move or say a word. Radek came out of his trance first: "We have to pull the shield back on!" and he went to the console, assessing the city damage at the same time, meanwhile Ronon and Teyla exchanged a worried look.

Above Atlantis, the Daedalus was still fighting the Wraith. Blasts could be heard and three out of the four inhabitants of the city were trying to fix what was fixable, it was not a pleasant task but something to occupy their worried minds.

An half and hour later, Colonel Sheppard landed on Atlantis having destroyed the last Wraith Darts, However he got a cold welcome. Nobody seemed to notice him at first.

"What the hell has happened to you, we won!" he exclaimed, pacing from left to right. He looked pointedly at Ronon who just went back to wiring a computer.

Silence was all he got from all of them and that was very frustrating.

"Come on! Ronon, Teyla? Where are McKay and Weir?"

"Doctor Weir is in the lab..." replied Teyla not looking at him.

"With Rodney?"

No one answered to that, Zalenka was on his computer glancing from time to time at Sheppard; Teyla had tears in her eyes but said nothing.

"Alright I will go ask Elizabeth!" he said leaving the room. It was unusual for the team to be that quiet and this began to worry him.

When he entered the labs he saw Elizabeth curled on the floor sobbing, she was shaking badly, a hand touching the floor where Rodney had been earlier.

John approached her slowly: "Elizabeth what's going on? Are you all right? Nobody wants to say anything..."

She just said one word, shakily: "Rodney…" and continued to weep on the floor.

John touched her arm to comfort her but she went crazy, stood up and ran out of the room as fast as she could. She ran and ran without knowing where she was going; when she stopped, she was on a balcony above the ocean and collapsed crying on the railing.

She immediately felt the cold breeze of the ocean on the path left by her tears, this cold wind hitting her face was the only thing real in her mind; the cold was everywhere but above all it was in her heart. She was clueless as to what her feelings for Rodney were; she just knew the pain was too much for her body. A piercing feeling was tearing her apart, "Not Rodney!" she gasped. "Please not Rodney!" she begged to the ocean.

John was shocked; there was no word for what was going on in his head at that moment. He had been on the Daedalus, returning to Atlantis when the distress signal came in. He had been told about the Wraith trap but didn't really understand what was happening on Atlantis. When he got there, his pilots instincts kicked in and he went to chase the Darts. So the news about Rodney left him speechless, the words "Rodney's dying" spiralling in his brain.

Rodney was his friend, his teammate, and the arrogant genius bastard that saved his life countless times. And now that is was his time to save Rodney, there was nothing he could do. "Powerless" was not a word John Sheppard used frequently but today, that word haunted him.

He prayed Carson would manage to save him. "Please save Rodney!"

How long she stayed out there she didn't know but she was still conscious when Ronon and Teyla arrived, having been looking for her for hours after John told them what had happened. They divided in search parties and it was Ronon who first hear her muffled sobs down a corridor on the east side of the city. The sounds came from the small balcony, discovered only a few weeks ago on this unexplored part of Atlantis.

"Doctor Weir, you really should come back inside, we were worried about you..." said Teyla concerned, with one hand holding Elizabeth elbow, she mentioned to Ronon to help her carry their leader.

Ronon helped her stand up " Can you walk?" he asked, she nodded and walked along with them. She never uttered a word as they walked through the city. She was trying to think but couldn't get pass the pain.

They escorted her to her quarters where she could finally calm down. She laid on her bed, holding a pillow to her chest. What had happened in one day was too much for her to assimilate. The thought of Rodney's body on the floor was enough to send into an uncontrollable sobbing fit.

She didn't know, she just didn't understand... Rodney's last words to her were a blessing and a burden. He was her best friend. NO! That was not true! He was more than that! However, she just would never accept it as long as he was working for her... And now, he was dying. That was enough to freeze her heart. She was going to lose him for good without knowing what could have been between them.

Ahhhhh! That's sad! Well thank you so much for the reviews! And keep reading, I have three chapters left, maybe more!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 : News from Earth**

While the Daedalus was bringing back the people evacuated to Atlantis, Carson was busy supervising Rodney's care on Earth.

As soon as he had crossed the gate, he had been surrounded by doctors checking Rodney as they walked to the infirmary. When they arrived to the infirmary, the room seemed to have every medical equipment you could imagine. The General had made sure everything was at the doctors' disposal. Carson quickly tried to explain what had happen back on Atlantis and what Rodney's part in it. When he came to the medical part, he became cautious.

"He has been exposed to very powerful radiations, he was not breathing when I found him..." had explained Carson to Doctor Lam.

"Let me see him." Carolyn had checked his vitals and was quite pessimistic about the outcome. Rodney McKay's ashen face was a quite a sight for Carson, something he dreaded above all.

"He needs surgery, the radiations did affect all his organs, I afraid the damage is already too widespread." had declared Carolyn.

"We need to save him doctor, I will not accept defeat!"

At those words, the infirmary got busy and long hours just began to unfold. The doctors worked, trying the impossible, at least eight people were surrounding Rodney's body, and giving him every care they could.

After 8 hours of operations, Carson was exhausted as well as the entire team. He was called to the General's office, and quickly made his way there.

"So what can you tell me, doctor?" Asked General Landry as soon as he came in.

"Well, he is stable but he went into a coma. Now only time will tell how things will go... It's only up to Rodney, we did everything we could." Carson's gaze went to his hands, with a sigh he looked up back to the General, "I'm afraid this is it. I would like to notify his family and friends. I know that his team on Atlantis would like to be here"

"I understand," answered Landry "I will contact his family on Earth"

"Can I inform Atlantis about his condition?" asked Carson.

"Sure go ahead doctor." said General Landry.

The day seemed to be a very dark one, as Carson departed, the General wondered how many would die in the future. Carson made his way to the control room and waited for Atlantis to made contact.

As soon as the wormhole connected, he saw the worried faces of John, Teyla, Ronon and Radek.

"So?" asked John.

"It's good to see you Colonel. Well, we did our best, now it's up to Rodney, however I must tell you that no one has ever survived this level of radiations. We are doing some research about a cure but it will take time, and Rodney doesn't have this luxury..." he paused trying to find his words.

"I think it would be good if you all came to see him. He is stable but I don't think this will last very long", the look on Carson's face did nothing but increase the feeling of helplessness they were all currently in.

"I will inform Elizabeth," replied John weakly.

Meanwhile at the SGC, Colonel Carter had just arrived in the base. As she went to her lab, she heard fragment of conversation, and heard about McKay being in here, she took her usual morning cup of coffee and went to see Daniel to ask.

"Hey !" she happily greeted Daniel

"Hello Sam. You just arrived?"

"Yes, but I wanted to ask you what was happening here, the corridors are buzzing about McKay…"

"He is dying." Answered Daniel shortly.

"What?" she exclaimed

"We cannot save him, they did all they could but it's only a matter of time now, he is in coma, Doctor Beckett has asked the rest of the team to come to say goodbye."

"You are serious? He is dying? How? Why?"

"Long story cut short, the city was under Wraith' attack and a device was tempering with the entire city rendering it powerless, McKay went to disconnect it and got full radiations saving the city."

"He is in the infirmary? Or did they took him on the surface?"

"He is still here. But let me warn you, you knew him, he doesn't look like the man we met..."

Sam left for the infirmary, when she arrived she saw a body partly covered in bandages, it reminded her of Daniel just before his ascension. McKay was awfully pale and he was connected to a variety of machines she had never seen before.

"Colonel Carter!" greeted Carson.

"Doctor!"

"Is it true?"

"I'm afraid so, there's nothing humanly possible to do."

She approached McKay's body and was about to touch him when she turned to Carson and asked "Can I?"

"Yes, he doesn't feel anything at that point..."

She took his hand and sighed. How many more would have to die?

End of chapter


	7. Chapter 7

Final chapter guys! Thank you again for the reviews! I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

----------------------

Chapter 7/ The mysterious device finally finds its purpose!

----------

On Atlantis, John and Teyla had come to visit Elizabeth in her quarters. She had been locked in since she had been brought there. She was exhausted but unable to sleep. Too much was on her mind. Her head was hurting from spending so many hours thinking, crying. Her brain was still trying to work out the recent events. How much she wanted to be given a chance to talk to Rodney, not even sure what she would say, but just being able to talk to him…

" We have to go to Earth. Carson thinks … well he is not optimistic. We will leave Colonel Caldwell in charge, I'm sure he will be happy about that. It is our last chance to see Rodney..." John had told her.

Elizabeth was curled into a ball on her bed. Breathing carefully to prevent any outburst of tears.

"You have to be strong Doctor Weir. Rodney wouldn't want you to close yourself to the rest of the world. You are our leader." Teyla tried to convince her the best she could, knowing this must be very painful for Elizabeth but life should continue its course.

Slowly, Elizabeth stood up, regarding John and Teyla who were standing on either side of her.

"We will do this together," said Teyla taking her hands.

"Right..." whispered Lizzie, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

When they arrived to the control room, John received a communication from Radek, who seemed to have returned to the lab.

"_This is amazing you have to come to see it. I think it might be a huge discovery,_" explained Zelenka.

"What are you talking about? Can't this wait? We're on our way to see Rodney on Earth"

"_NO! I think it might even help him, come on quickly_!"

------------------

When they arrived in the lab, they saw Radek, with his laptop connected to the awful device. Radek was typing furiously and talking to himself.

"Are you sure that's wise?" asked John with uncertainty.

"Perfectly safe. The object is still emitting some kind of radiation inside, but it is a different kind from the one we had detected earlier."

Elizabeth was standing still next to Teyla. Regarding the deadly device warily.

"It killed Rodney! You should destroy it!" hissed Elizabeth.

"No Doctor Weir! I think it was altered, it changed after Rodney disconnected it. See, if you look closer, there are writings. However, when we first got the device, it was bare, no signs, no... nothing on it. Rodney must have triggered a mechanism when he … did what he did..." explained Radek clearing his throat.

"So! What does it say?" inquired John.

"Umm, well, I'm no linguist and my ancient is a bit rusty!"

"Ancient?" gasped Elizabeth, raising a hand to cover her mouth in surprise.

"Well it seems, after all that, this object was not made by the Wraiths. Maybe it was just a coincidence or the Wraith had no idea what to do with it and send it our way."

" So again, what does it say?" asked John for a second time.

"It is a weapon for sure. However, the context is a bit confusing to me. It has a warning though, something about not being able to make the difference between corporal bodies and spiritual bodies. I think it wasn't finished, that's why it was abandoned by its creators."

"And how does this help Rodney?" asked John.

"The device can reverse its effects. At least, it does say "reverted" here, so I guess…"

A light of hope flashed into Elizabeth's eyes : "Can you make it work?" she asked.

"It's already working, in my understanding, you have to 'trigger' the pulse like it happened the first time."

"Are you sure you won't cause more damage? We can't risk killing people on Earth," stated Teyla glancing to Elizabeth occasionally.

"Rodney did it! I don't know how or why but it is on the "reverse" position, I can have Colonel Carter check it, but I believe it is safe..." finished Radek.

"Alright, let's do this!" announced Elizabeth.

----------------

On Earth :

You know that feeling when everything goes bad and you wait for something to happen and time suddenly seems to slow down? Well that was what Sam and Carson were feeling in the control room of Stargate Command.

"I don't like to wait!" she had told Carson.

"I know, me too. I'm sure Rodney would be laughing at this. Seeing us wait for… Anyway, you know he likes you? You are after all his biggest…"

"Fantasy?" she proposed.

" …challenge, I would say. He loves to compete with you, you know that?"

"Don't let him hear I said that but I like the competition! It's quite entertaining. I wouldn't want to miss a chance to beat his ass another time." Sam smirked.

"Off-world Activation!" said the sergeant, "It's Atlantis."

"Open the Iris!" ordered Sam.

She watched as John, Teyla, Elizabeth, Ronon and Radek came through the wormhole.

With Carson, she went to greet them down the ramp.

"Welcomed back to Earth! Even if it is under such tragic circumstances..."

"Thank you, Colonel. But we have reasons to be hopeful..." stated Elizabeth.

She mentioned the box Radek was holding and asked Sam to check the device.

"Of course, I will."

Sam left with Radek to her lab, meanwhile the others left for the infirmary.

----------------------------

Arriving there, Elizabeth went to Rodney's side and took his hand in hers. A regular beep was breaking the silence of the room. Carson explained Rodney's condition to the rest of the team. The sight of Rodney so pale in his bed was disturbing.

Elizabeth didn't know what to say. She really hoped Radek was right, losing Rodney was not an option she dared to think about. She wanted to do something, anything, but didn't know what.

----------------------------

Fifteen minutes later, Sam and Radek entered the room alongside Daniel and General Landry.

They were having an animated discussion about the device. Granted it worked, the General was not certain it was safe.

In the end, Carter had convinced him of limiting the exposure to the room and asked everyone to leave. Elizabeth was ushered outside despite protesting her right to stay with Rodney. John and Teyla restrained her from going back inside, telling her it was for her safety.

Despair was what Elizabeth was feeling, she had nothing left to do but to pray for Rodney.

--------------------------

Dressed in red protection suits, Sam, Carson and Radek were the only one allowed in the room. They configured the device and turned it on by EM pulse. The reaction was instantaneous. The blue glow surrounded the room and disappeared.

Rodney began trashing in his bed, the machines beeping furiously. Carson went by his side to prevent him from harming himself. After convulsing for a few minutes, Rodney stopped and opened his eyes. His heartbeat had come back to normal as well as his blood pressure. Once Carson was satisfied with his condition, he asked Radek to make sure the room was safe from any radiation.

Sam told him everything was normal as she watched Rodney's eyes wander around the room.

"I guess we can call this a miracle" smiled Sam

"This is amazing." exclaimed Radek.

A totally lost Rodney was trying to figure out what was happening around him : "Where am I? What's going on? Who are you?"

The last question was funny. Rodney was surrounded by three big red giants, the suits were not really human like. Carson actually laughed at the question.

"It is us, Rodney! You are on Earth! You were exposed to radiations back on Atlantis..." he was told.

Carson took off his helmet and smiled :

"Ah that's better! I thought some red alien had taken your voice." joked Rodney.

"It good to see you back to normal McKay." said Sam.

"Carter?"

"And that's me!" waved Radek taking off his helmet.

"That bad? Huh?" asked Rodney.

"Yeah!" replied Radek. "But we saved you. So you could at least say thank you!"

"AH!"

"I'm waiting!" Radek crossed his arms in front of him, clearly annoyed.

"Right! Thanks I guess!" finally managed Rodney.

"I guess we should let the others know!" Carter went to open the door.

"Who?" asked Rodney.

Carson put one hand on Rodney's shoulder, and said, "Everyone. We were worried about you. You almost died!"

"Oh!"

At that moment, he heard Carter say : "He is all yours", and six people entered the room, he saw Elizabeth rush to him and felt her hug him before realizing she had already crossed the space between the door and his bed.

"Whaou! Elizabeth! Don't kill me yet!" joked Rodney.

He heard a sniff from down his chest, her face and hands were currently attached to his white infirmary shirt.

"This is not funny!" she sniffed again. "I thought I had lost you. Don't ever do that to me again. Do you understand?"

He could feel her tears wetting his shirt. He suddenly remembered the kiss, the words he told her before leaving.

He took his eyes off her form and watched as everyone in the room was looking at him. John gave him a small smile (he knew!), Teyla was crying (she knew too! She had been there), Ronon seemed happy (well that was close to a smile), Carson was beaming at him (he probably thinks that this is romantic), Carter and Jackson were doubtful as to what was happening, and the General was clearing his throat (right, I have to say something).

Rodney closed his eyes and sighed.

"I'm sorry I did this to you. That was selfish from my part."

Elizabeth shook her head to say no.

"I shouldn't have said anything, I am a fool!"

You could hear Elizabeth laughing against his chest.

"Now see! You think it's funny." smiled Rodney.

Elizabeth drew her head from his chest and looked at him, beaming. "I love you too Rodney."

Rodney's jaw dropped, not believing what she just told him. Elizabeth took pity of him and closed the distance between them.

The kiss was everything he had ever wanted, he forgot where he was and kissed her back.

He felt like his dreams had finally come true. He knew deep down inside that it was destiny that had brought them together and that now, everything would be all right.

**THE END**

**------------------------**

**Anything to say? Please review!**


End file.
